“Woe to you, scribes and pharisees…” The gospels are clear that Jesus fussed at the pharisees. He didn’t fuss with the sinners but instead welcomed them. He didn’t fuss with the Sadducees, another of the movements in first century Judaism, even though they were aloof from the people and collaborated with the Romans. The pharisees… Read More »
AUGUST272019
When St. Paul entered Europe his missionary method adapted to the culture of Greece. “We were determined to share with you not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well.” Instead of merely preaching and teaching the Apostle entered into a relationship with the people of Thessalonica and shared his life with… Read More »
AUGUST262019
For the past few months the Bible readings have been taken from the first eight books of the Old Testament, the story of Israel’s beginnings. For the next few months the readings will be taken from the epistles of St. Paul which document the beginnings of the Christian Church. The first epistle to the Thessalonians… Read More »
AUGUST252019
Ellen Noble and I used to swap poems. One of my favorite poets to share with her was Rainer Maria Rilke. In response to a letter from a young person who seem full of doubt and confusion Rilke wrote this: “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the… Read More »
AUGUST242019
The apostle Bartholomew has a feast day today yet the gospel text is about Nathaniel. What is going on? The companion of Philip in Matthew, Mark and Luke is named Bartholomew; in the Gospel of John, Nathaniel. Are they the same person? The short answer is: we don’t know. That tells us something about being… Read More »
AUGUST232019
This summer the scripture readings have been selected book by book from the Old Testament. Today we reach the eighth book, Ruth. Ruth is a small, domestic soap opera, significant because it speaks of an ancestor of King David. We learn from the story that Ruth, David’s great-grandmother, was a foreigner, an immigrant, a non-Jew,… Read More »
AUGUST222019
The story of Jephthah in the Book of Judges is one of the “texts of terror” — Biblical stories which exhibit abuse and violence against women. Jephthah’s daughter is not even named as she is victimized by his arrogance. While it initially seems a very bizarre story, a closer examination shows a similar aspect to… Read More »
AUGUST212019
God is not fair. “God’s ways are not our ways,” said the Prophet. Think of the cliches in our culture: there is no such thing a free lunch; if you work hard enough you will succeed; a penny saved is a penny earned. The mentality is: this much work gets you that much reward. We… Read More »
AUGUST202019
This summer we have been reading the Old Testament. The first five books, the Pentateuch; next, the book of Joshua, and this week the book of Judges. Judges is a story of one disaster after another. God raises up “judges” periodically to get the Israelites out of the various jams. Gideon is one such judge… Read More »
AUGUST192019
Jesus described himself as “meek and humble of heart.” That means it was not about him; he always referred back to the one he called his Father. “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good.” No doubt this is what was so attractive to his followers. The meekness… Read More »
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